Dynamic Motion of the Corrugated Ribbon in a Ribbon Microphone (original) (raw)

Ribbon microphones are known for their warm sonics, owing in part to the unique ribbon motion induced by the sound field. Here the motion of the corrugated ribbon element in a sound field is considered, and a physical model of the ribbon motion is presented. The model separately computes propagating torsional disturbances and coupled transverse and longitudinal disturbances. Each propagation mode is implemented as a mass-spring model where a mass is identified with a ribbon corrugation fold. The model is parameterized using ribbon material and geometric properties. Laser vibrometer measurements are presented, revealing stiffness in the transverse and longitudinal propagation, and showing close agreement between measured and modeled ribbon motion.